1920s Windsor Stove

1920s Windsor Stove

This steel-and-iron Royal Windsor, manufactured on behalf of Montgomery Ward, sold for around $80 in the 1920s. Back then, the appliance served as a versatile tool, since cooks could power it using either wood or coal. Two small doors on the lower left hide the fuel chambers, a row of bun warmers grace the top of the piece, and a copper-lined box for heating water hangs on the right. Quality antique stoves with restoration potential command up to $2,500 (fully updated examples, converted to gas or electric, can bring as much as $9,000). This stove may show some rust on its nickel-plated trim, but the crisp blue enameling makes this a particularly desirable item.

Singer 66 Sewing Machine

Singer 66 Sewing Machine

The serial number, G3008402, reveals this machine was made in 1913 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. This Singer 66 model was one of 50,000 such machines produced from 1910 to 1920. While the item is not rare, Mike Wolfe of American Pickers notes it is desired by collectors for its ornate "Red-Eye" decal pattern. If the machine were in mint condition, it would be valued at nearly $1,000. "The noticeable wear on the logo significantly reduces the price," explains appraiser Helaine Fendelman. "It also suggests it was used by a professional machinist who would have wrapped cloth around the arm to stash pins."